It has not been a good year for Michael Steele. While Democrats secured their biggest legislative victory in nearly a half-century, the RNC chairman has been accused of extravagant spending and slapped with a humiliating scandal over the use of donor money at a "bondage club" (the Wire covered the firestorm of reaction here and here).

Now the butt of wonky political cartoons, Steele struck back at his many detractors on "Good Morning America," flatly rejecting speculation that he would resign as RNC chairman with a stark "no." Steele claimed he has a smaller margin for error because he is black, just like "Barack Obama has a slimmer margin." Forcefully defending his work at the RNC, he argued his management style puts him at odds with inside-the-Beltway Republicans.

I’m not a Washington insider… My view on politics is much more grassroots oriented. It’s not old boy network oriented and so I tend to come at it a little bit stronger, a little more streetwise if you will. That rubs some feathers the wrong way. At the end of the day I’m judged by whether I win elections and I raise the money.

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